Website Analysis Part 4: New media Culture Issues (cont.)

A community of practice defines itself along three dimensions:

• What it is about—its joint enterprise as understood and continually renegotiated by its members

• How it functions—the relationships of mutual engagement that bind members together into a social entity

• What capability it has produced—the shared repertoire of communal resources (routines, sensibilities, artifacts, vocabulary, styles, etc.) that members have developed over time.

(taken from reading section, source unknown)

The Joblo website is a fine example of a community of practice. Each article around the site has a comment section below it, titled The Schmoes Strike Back! allowing the members of this online community to have their say and allow some debate around the points covered in the article. When accessing myjoblo.com, users are required to register via an image verification process. I had to pick the image which was Homer Simpson. This required me to have an already pre-existing knowledge of what such a cultural icon looked like, the first step for me to "prov" myself to this community of practice, proving that I have the knowledge to join their group. To join, I had to create a username, which I chose to be GiveEmHellboy! after my own favourite film. A password and email were given, and then I had to enter some details about myself, such as my favourite film of all time and my favourite film quote of all time to give myself an identity on the site.

It was also required that I gave a reason for wanting to join the community. I chose to say that I wished to join for academic purposes and research. Other information I had to give included where I live, my occupation and my interests. While these were optional, I felt almost inclined to fill them in, as it would give a broader insight into my own personality and interests. After activating my account through an email hyperlink, I was free to roam the forums and look into the various member only aspects of the site.

The forum on this site is structured similarly to the main site. A list of members lets me know who is online right now so if needed to, i can contact fellow members and friends for information on a certain subject or their thoughts on a subject related to the topic of film. It also stated the number of users active and the record high of member active at one time. Very user friendly, the forum is split into categories and further subheadings of the areas where different topics are discussed. Each main "room" was titled I am Jack's... which is a reference to the movie Fight Club, where a character is reading a series of articles related to functions of the human body written in the first person, such as I am jack's spleen. This is again a reference to a film it is assumed all members of the community have seen and remember. The level of dedication to films this site shows is proof enough of its existence as a community of practice. I also received a welcome as the site's newest member, giving me a sense of importance among the other members.